The Tesla Model 3 Can Now Park Itself, Thanks To New Update

While consumers who ordered the Model 3 are still waiting for their EV’s arrival, Tesla has been busy making the vehicle more and more advanced. Just recently, Tesla announced that the Model 3’s Autopilot feature is currently being recalibrated. If a new YouTube video of a TM3 is any indication, it seems like the recalibration period is done, and the highly anticipated mass market EV is now able to park itself completely independent of any input from its driver.

Parking-assist technology has been a particularly popular trend among auto manufacturers during the past few years, with veteran car makers, such as Audi and BMW, featuring the tech in their vehicles. Despite this, however, Tesla’s Autopark technology still holds a special place among electric car enthusiasts, mainly due to its accuracy and fluidity.

Tesla vehicles have been equipped with Autopark capabilities since the days of Autopilot 1.0 and Firmware 7.0. While the software in itself is not new at all, the recently uploaded YouTube video features the first visual demonstration of the technology at work in the Model 3. Needless to say, it is quite impressive.

During the short video demonstration, the owner of the Model 3 simply tapped on the “Start” button on the vehicle’s touchscreen while shifting the vehicle into reverse. As soon as the button was tapped, the Model 3 simply and smoothly initiated its Autopark feature.

As noted in an Electrek report, Tesla’s software was able to park the Model 3 in what would have been a pretty difficult spot. The parking space that the driver in the recently uploaded video selected, after all, was tightly sandwiched between other vehicles. Despite this, however, the Model 3 was able to avoid all possible obstacles as it was easing itself into the parking spot.

The Model 3’s Autopark feature appears to be similar to the software found in its larger siblings, the Model S and Model X. Just like its more expensive brethren, a “P” icon appears on the Model 3’s touchscreen as soon as the vehicle detects a feasible parking spot. In order to activate it, the driver just needs to tap on the “Start” button while shifting the EV to Reverse. Once that is done, the Model 3 would park itself just as well, or probably even better than its human driver.

The Model 3 is designed to be a fully autonomous vehicle in the near future. With this in mind, Tesla definitely appears to be fully dedicated to continually improving the Model 3’s software. While the vehicles now have Autopark, expectations are high that Tesla would soon roll out additional Autopilot features such as Autosteer and automatic lane changing within the next few over-the-air updates.